Throughout October, R.D. Parker Collegiate is giving students and members of the public a little taste of Second World War history courtesy of the Anne Frank House.
At the beginning of the month, a travelling exhibit from this Dutch museum set up shop inside the RDPC library, with high school students serving as guides through the life of this famous Jewish diarist and victim of the Holocaust.
During the school’s open house Oct. 10, Grade 11 student McKenna Brown was in charge of retelling Anne Frank’s story, from her prewar years in Amsterdam to hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex to her eventual death in a concentration camp in 1945.
Brown volunteered to take on this role because she wanted to learn more about this historical figure, especially when it comes to the famous diary that chronicled her family’s years in hiding.
“The main thing that really surprised me is I didn’t know that Anne actually wrote in her diary that she wanted it to be published,” said Brown. “I always thought that her dad just assumed she wanted it published, and I kind of thought it was rude of him to read it and then publish it. But she had written that she wanted her diary to become a book.”
Brown is one of 12 RDPC students who signed up to be tour guides for this exhibit, which is available for a maximum of five viewings a day.
Social studies teacher Teresa Jenkins, who helped bring this exhibit to Thompson in the first place, says these student were given two days worth of training to really prepare for this role and to absorb the heavier subject matter.
“I think they’ve taken it in stride,” she said. “Through the training we really humanized Anne as someone that was like them. By reading excerpts from her diary [they] understood that she faced some of the same struggles that they would normally face as a teenager.”
Jenkins went on to say that this exhibit is in high demand from schools all over the country, having already made an appearance in Winnipeg earlier this year.
The social studies teacher said it was worth a two-year wait, since this showcase provides students with an opportunity to learn about a well-travelled avenue of history in a totally unique way.
“I think social history is just as important as political history,” said Jenkins. “To understand one child’s place in the war really kind of hit home for them and made it seem more real.”
The Anne Frank House exhibit will continue to run inside the RDPC library until the end of October.
